A Perfect Stranger (formerly A Walk in the Woods)
by xBeautifulxLittlexFoolx
Summary: The year is 1969. Druella Black hosts a dinner party for some of the most influential pureblood wizards in Britain. Her eldest daughter shows a rebellious streak and ditches the party. In the woods behind the manor, she meets a mysterious and charming stranger and that changes everything. Rated T just in case. Bellatrix/Voldemort with hints of Narcissa/Lucius.
1. Ch 1: Preparations

**Hopefully I have all of the facts straight. I spent a lot of time on the Harry Potter wiki to figure out the ages of everybody. The year is approximately 1969.**

"Are you excited?" Andromeda asked, shoving Narcissa out of the way of the mirror. "I hear the Lestranges and the Malfoys are coming."

"Of course!" Narcissa squealed. "I love dinner parties."

"I do not," I said sullenly, not looking up from the book I was reading.

"Why ever not?" Narcissa asked, running a brush through her long blonde hair.

"Ignore her, Cissy," Andromeda said dismissively. "She's just sulking because she got kicked out of her room and is back to sharing with us." My middle sister walked over and sat beside me. "It's only for the weekend. You'll have your room back on Monday."

"I'd be mad if that weirdo was staying in my room, too," Narcissa said. My youngest sister was always quick to side with me. She was referring to my odd cousin, Sirius, who was staying with us for an extended weekend because my Aunt Walburga and Uncle Orion thought it would be good for him to spend more time around some good, true, pure-blooded wizards. He was only ten, not even old enough to have started Hogwarts, and already he was showing tendencies to be sympathetic to mud-bloods and Muggles.

"I'm not mad because Sirius is staying in my room," I told the two younger girls. "Although I don't get it. We are the wealthiest and most powerful wizarding family in all of Britain. Why is anyone in this household sharing bedrooms? I just think dinner parties are stupid."

I heard a sharp knock on the bedroom door that could only be my mother. Narcissa grabbed the door. "The Malfoys are here early and the Lestranges are arriving any minute now," she said. "Now girls, you are all getting to the age where you must start considering marriage. These are two good pure-blood families, and they both have sons the right age."

I rolled my eyes. "I know, Mother. We're all at Hogwarts together, remember?"

Mother ignored me. "And so you must all look your best. Stand up girls."

We stood for our once-over.

"A little more blush, Andromeda dear," she said. "Hair down, Narcissa, you're too young to pull off that sophisticated bun." She winced when she got to me. "Bellatrix. Did you even _try_ to brush your hair? And you've a run in your stockings."

"There is nothing I can do about my hair," I said. My sisters had inherited my mother's fair, fine hair, but I had my father's dark, unruly curls.

"At least _try_, Bellatrix," she insisted. "Now, I mustn't keep Abraxas and Lucius waiting. Come down as soon as you're ready, girls."

Narcissa pulled the bobby pins out of her hair and let it fall loose. "I'm going down," she announced. "I want to talk to Lucius."

"I'm right behind you," Andromeda said after touching up her makeup.

"I'll be there in a minute," I said. "Or I won't. Most likely I won't. Andromeda, kick Cissy for me if she's about to say something idiotic to Lucius."

"Bella, what do you mean you're not going?" Cissy asked.

"I mean, dinner parties are stupid and I'm not going," I repeated, determined now. I laced up my black boots. "I'm going for a walk in the woods. You can tell Mother I have a headache. Or that my hair simply refuses to cooperate and obviously I cannot be seen in public for fear of disgracing wizards everywhere."

"Stop being melodramatic, put on decent shoes, and come downstairs with us, Bellatrix," Andromeda, ever the practical one, insisted.

"You know Rodolphus is fond of you," Narcissa reminded me. "He's kind of cute. And you'd do well to marry a Lestrange."

Fiercely, I tied a knot in the shoelace of my left boot and stood up. "I am going for a walk in the woods. You may tell Mother I am dead."

**This was totally going to be a one-shot. Then I realized it was getting awfully long for a fanfiction and decided to break it into chapters. The exciting part is coming up next. Review please? **


	2. Ch 2: Into the Woods

**I didn't mention this before—for the record, I don't own Harry Potter. Not that any of you think I did. But just for the record.**

"Where are you going? The party's that way."

I couldn't believe that I was stopped before I even got all the way down the staircase. Of course, the little prick couldn't mind his own business. "Get out of my way, Sirius," I said, shoving him against the banner.

"Are you skipping the party?" he asked.

"It's none of your business," I said. I just wanted to get out of the house. The idea of sitting at that table while Mother and Father showed off our status to the best of best was almost more than I could bear at the moment. It would be the same scene I had witnessed since I was even younger than Sirius; Mother and the ladies tittering about high society over tea; Father and the men drinking too much fire whiskey, getting loud, and reliving their glory days at Hogwarts; Rodolphus and Rabastan picking on the rest of us children; Lucius and Narcissa being complete ninnies to each other; and Andromeda and I left the only sane ones.

"You are, aren't you?" he gasped incredulously.

"Be quiet or I'll hex you," I said.

"You will not," he argued.

"I'm of age," I reminded him, "so I can do magic whenever I please. I know some pretty nasty curses, so you'd do well to help Dromeda and Cissy cover for me."

Sirius frowned. "I'm telling."

"Tell and I'll _avada-kedavra_ you," I warned.

That really scared him. "Okay," he agreed. "I won't tell." For a moment, I almost felt bad. Sirius obviously knew what avada kedavra meant, though I wasn't sure how, and really believed I'd do it. I'd never use an Unforgivable Curse, especially not on my little cousin, no matter how odd he might be. But then he added, "But you must let me come with you. Tell me where you're going and let me come."

"I'm going to the woods," I said. "And you can't come. You're too young."

"Sirius!" a voice called from the other room. It was Mrs. Lestrange. "Sirius, darling, you _must_ come here! I'm simply _dying_ to meet you!"

I heard Mrs. Lestrange's high-heeled footsteps on our old hardwood floors and bolted out the back door before Sirius had a chance to follow me, or Mrs. Lestrange had a chance to see me.

I knew I was being stupid and dramatic, but I didn't care. I was in my final year at Hogwarts and the idea of life after school was daunting. I wanted a career; I was good at my schoolwork, particularly Charms, but I was a woman, and what's more, a woman of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. My family believed in the traditional ideals. All I was good for was to make a pureblood marriage and have children to carry on the high class of wizards. I wasn't opposed to that, necessarily, but I would have liked more. Was that so wrong? It was nearly 1970. Even the Muggles had progressed.

I took off for the woods behind our manor, my skirt snagging on a loose branch in my hurry. I yanked it loose and it scraped a hole across my tights. Well, there was already a run in them. I carried on.

"Why hello there."

The voice was soft and deep, decidedly male. _What kind of a guy hangs out in the woods?_ I wondered briefly, but curiosity won out and I turned around, knowing I could reach for my wand if I felt threatened. I was a decently accomplished duelist.

He was tall and handsome, despite being a little too thin and looking rather sullen. He had dark hair and eyes that seemed to stare through to your soul. I found myself attracted to him, although I knew that I shouldn't be—he was probably twenty years older than me; there was at least one pureblood boy with a crush on me sitting in my dining hall not fifty feet from where we stood; I knew nothing about him; and of course, he was hanging out in the woods, which was odd to say the least. And despite all of that, or maybe because of it, I wanted to get to know him.

"Hi."

**Dun. Dun. Dun. Please review. I'd like a little feedback. I feel like I'm having a hard time capturing Bellatrix's voice/emotions. Because on one hand she has to be the Bellatrix that is a straight up evil witch we see in the books and movies (torturer of the Longbottoms, killer of Sirius Black, etc., etc.), but on the other hand she can't have always been that way, right? Imagining her as a teenager is harder than I originally anticipated.**


	3. Ch 3: An Interesting Exchange

**Yay I got reviews! Seriously though. To all of my reviewers and followers, thank you. Now. Enough about me…**

"I'm sorry to disturb you, Miss…?"

"Bella," I said. "Bellatrix Black."

He smiled. "Bellatrix." He said it as though he were tasting it. "A lovely name. You are a daughter of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black?"

I rolled my eyes. Was that the only thing that would ever define me? "The one and only. And you are?"

"Of course," he said. "How rude of me. I go by the name of Lord Voldemort."

"_Lord_ Voldemort?" I asked. I knew Muggles had a complicated hierarchy in which there were lords and dukes and princes and the like, but British wizards had no equivalent. Or if they did, I had never heard of it in all of my years of school, which seemed unlikely. My family and the other purebloods were the closest our kind got to royalty. "Lord of what, or of whom, may I ask?"

He chuckled. "You are an impetuous girl, aren't you? Of what or whom isn't an issue as of now. I am a wizard of great power, and I sense you are an accomplished witch."

I shrugged. "Not that it matters. I'm supposed to get married—probably to one of the Lestrange boys—and have children to continue the existence of pureblood wizards."

"You say that as though you are opposed," Lord Voldemort said. "Do you not support the idea of pureblood wizards?"

I felt stupid for saying what I did. Of course a lord would value the purity of blood. And who knows what sort of a place he ruled over. Maybe he supported traditional roles of women as much as my own family did. I treaded carefully, not wanting to upset him. "Of course I support the idea," I explained. "I'd just like a chance to do something. _Be_ something, you know?"

"Believe me, Bellatrix, I know the feeling," he said. "Now. Would you like to duel with me? I won't hurt you. I'd just like to know that my idea of you is correct."

I hesitated.

"Oh!" he gasped. "Are you old enough to be doing magic outside of Hogwarts? If you're a child, I'll…"

Perhaps he hadn't meant to sound condescending, but it ruffled my feathers nonetheless. I couldn't have this handsome noble thinking I was a little kid. "I'm not a child," I snapped. "I'm of age. Let's duel." I drew my wand.

"We're only aiming to disarm," Lord Voldemort told me. "And, as always, no physical contact. Are you ready, Miss Black?"

I nodded. He drew his wand. We faced each other and bowed. For a moment, we both seemed unsure as to who would make the first move. In a real duel, the obvious choice would be for one of us to yell '_expelliarmus_' immediately and end it quickly. But I had a feeling this was more about showing off than actually dueling. Nerves got the best of me and, panicked, I shouted the first charm that came to mind. "_Obscuro!_"

"A blindfold?" he asked. "Cute. But I think you underestimate the… pull that you have. Even if I don't see you, I can sense you. _Tarantallegra!_"

Immediately my legs began the uncontrollable dance that came with that jinx. It struck me as humorous that this sophisticated lord would choose the same jinx used by Hogwarts students to prank their friends.

"_Finite_," I said. "_Rictusempra!_" If he wanted childish jinxes, he would get childish jinxes.

"_Stupefy!_" he shouted.

"_Protego!_" I yelled back, quickly and instinctively.

He looked almost proud, another sign this wasn't a real duel. Nevertheless, I took the moment to my advantage. "_Incarcerous!_" I shouted, and, once he was tied, finished the duel with a swift, "_Expelliarmus!_"

"Very nice," he said, untying himself from the tree with a mere nod of his head and moving close to me. "Of course, I was going easy on you. Even so, you have proved yourself a fair opponent, Miss Black."

"Please," I said. "Don't call me that. I'm not Miss Black. I'm just Bellatrix."

"Fair enough," Lord Voldemort said. He took another step towards me and pushed one of my ever-ruthless curls off of my forehead. "How old are you, Just Bellatrix?"

I wanted him. I wanted him in a way I had never wanted Rodolphus or any of that lot. I resented the age question. If he heard I was only seventeen, he would run for sure. "Old enough," I said, hoping I didn't sound like a child, like Narcissa trying to dress too old for her age or Sirius begging to sit with the adults. "I told you I was of age, isn't that enough?"

"I suppose it will have to be," he murmured. "You are quite powerful. You have so much potential."

"Thank you, my lord," I said.

We were standing so close. I could feel the chemistry between us. He was a stranger, a stranger who was undeniably older than I was. This was wrong.

We kissed.

I had been kissed before, of course, by Rodolphus and others, including a very regrettable Hufflepuff boy my third year of school.

But I had never been kissed like this.

**I feel kind of creepy writing about them. I know they're not real, but the age difference… is definitely not socially acceptable. Anyway. I'm leaving for vacation tomorrow, so if I don't update for a while, it's because I don't have Internet. In the meantime, please read and review! **


	4. Ch 4: Babbling and Brambles

**Finally had enough inspiration/wi-fi to update so… here goes nothing.**

What had I done? I didn't even know this man. Lust turned to panic as we pulled away.

My face must have betrayed my internal panic. "I'm sorry, Bellatrix," he said. "If I had realized you didn't want—"

"No," I said. "I mean I didn't not—I did—I wanted you. I wanted to kiss you, I mean."

"Good," he said. "Because I have no desire to hurt you are make you uncomfortable. I'll never ask you to do anything you don't want to."

I was so confused. I had wanted—and still did want—Lord Voldemort. But I wasn't sure how far I was willing to go, or what he expected of me. And why was he wandering in the woods, anyway? Was he just looking for young witches to take advantage of? I felt stupid. Dueling and kissing a complete stranger wasn't me at all.

I tried to imagine telling my sisters of the encounter. Andromeda would lecture me for sure. Narcissa would gush about how romantic it was, or else implore me to 'think of Rodolphus.' Or probably both.

"My lord," I said. It felt right, somehow, to be calling him that. "I don't understand what it is you want from me."

He smiled. "Again, I feel that I should be apologizing to you, Miss Black. You are a powerful, pureblooded wizard. I can't help it that I am drawn to powerful, pureblood wizards… particularly if they are beautiful."

I felt blush creeping into my pale cheeks. I wasn't beautiful. Narcissa was beautiful. Even Andromeda got called cute or pretty. I was always the odd one out, the stubborn older sister, with beat-up black boots and messy dark hair. There had been boys, but they had always been… well… _boys_. Always silly and immature, never caring about me as a person, only wanting a girl to fool around with, somehow having the idea that I would put out. The only exception was Rodolphus, and it wasn't like I would have a say in that. A Black and a Lestrange. It was a perfect pureblood match. For all I knew, our mothers were sitting in my dining room planning the wedding right now. "Thank you, my lord," I murmured.

"So shy all of a sudden," he said, reaching out and tipping my face back towards his. "You are usually more brash, correct?"

It was like he could see right through me. "I suppose."

"Why?" he asked. "Do I scare you?"

"No," I said. "I mean, I don't think I'm _scared_, exactly. I just don't know you, or anything about you, or what you want from me."

"I am Lord Voldemort," he said. "I am a very powerful wizard with a fondness for other powerful wizards, and I want nothing more than what you are willing to give."

"How can I know what I'm willing to give if I don't know what you're asking me to give?" I demanded.

He smiled. "I want you, Bellatrix," he explained. "As a… hmm… _ally_ is such an impersonal word, don't you think? But truly, allies are what I need right now. I only wish there were a better word for it; a word more befitting for gorgeous witches."

"Do you wish to be friends?" I asked.

"Friends!" he scoffed. "I've never _had_ friends, never seen the need."

"Maybe you should start," I suggested.

He shook his head. "I don't think that friends will ever be what we are. I am not the sort of person who would pursue a friendship."

"Do you want me for a lover?" I asked.

"There's a word that strikes me as even more foreign than 'friend'," he said.

"You've never had a lover?"

"I've had women," he said. "Scores of them. Ever since I was in school. But I'm not sure I could call any of them a 'lover.'"

Lord Voldemort seemed so sad. What kind of a person had never had friends? I knew what it was like to be an outsider. I was the least favorite of the Black sisters for sure, and I sometimes wondered if people only like me because I _was_ a Black, but at least I had friends. My heart went out to him. I reached my hand up and touched his cheek. "Haven't you wanted one?"

"Love is an interesting concept, Bellatrix," he said, gently brushing my hand away. "I'm not sure if I am capable of it."

"Would you like to try to love?" I asked. I kissed him suddenly. Surprised, he kissed me back, his hands on my waist and mine in his hair. I threw all caution to the wind. So what if he was older? So what if I didn't know him? So what if I was supposed to be with Rodolphus? Rodolphus was so… typical. Expected. And he certainly didn't kiss me like Lord Voldemort.

Things grew heated. We somehow ended up in the brambles just off the path where we had met. When at last we stopped kissing, we sat in silence for a moment. I looked around. The branches had torn my tights up.

Lord Voldemort touched my knee, where the bare skin was exposed through a rip. "Sorry about this," he said.

I shrugged. "They were old. My mother was going to make me throw them out anyway."

**Thank you to everyone who is reading and reviewing! Keep it coming! **


	5. Ch 5: Disbelief in the Concept

**Well it only took me several millennia to update. I've been insanely busy this month. I was in a show in the beginning of the month and once that ended it was all about getting ready to go back to school. Blah. Anyways. Thank you for waiting patiently.**

**And now, back to your regularly scheduled fanfiction…**

_Now what?_ I wondered.

Lord Voldemort and I sat in silence for a moment.

"I should be going," I said. "My… my family is expecting me. My mother is throwing a dinner party and I kind of ran away because I just… needed to clear my head, you know? Like the idea of sitting in that room and everyone watching me and Rodolphus and trying to make us into a perfect pureblood marriage and I'm only seventeen and I want to get out of school and see the world and _be_ someone but I can't and I'll go straight from being Bellatrix Black to being Bellatrix Lestrange and that hardly seems fair because I don't even know who just plain Bellatrix is!" And stood up and tried to gather my thoughts. "And is having ripped up tights and unbrushed hair _really_ the worst sin in the world?"

Lord Voldemort smiled. "Why, of course not. I find it quite… attractive." He paused a moment. "So there is a dinner party at the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black and you chose to spend your time cavorting with me instead of around other powerful, pureblood wizards. Interesting… Why?"

"I just told you why," I muttered. "I'm just sick of it all, you know? And this arranged marriage to Rodolphus actually really bothers me! Doesn't everyone deserve to love?"

"Oh, Miss Bella, I don't know a thing about love," he murmured. "But I do know that you shouldn't have to become Mrs. Lestrange if you don't want to. I think Bellatrix is a perfectly wonderful, talented, gorgeous young woman who deserves a chance to see the world and be something." He looked at me closely. "You're only seventeen?"

_Shit._ I knew I shouldn't have said anything, but it had just slipped out. He wouldn't want me now. He would think I was too young for him. I probably _was_ too young for him. "Yeah," I acknowledged.

"And yet wise beyond your years," he mused. He was quiet for a moment. "Well. I should let get back to your dinner party. Wouldn't want to keep them waiting for too long."

"Yes," I said.

We stood in awkward silence for a moment.

"Will I ever see you again?" I asked.

"It would be my pleasure, love," he said. "And I do believe it shall also be fate's. I have great plans for you."

I smiled.

"A kiss, before you go?" he asked.

He had hardly finished the question and my lips were on his.

After what could have been seconds, or hours, or centuries, we pulled away again. "I'll send you an owl," he whispered. "Good-bye, Bellatrix."

"Good-bye, my lord."

Dazed, I made my way back to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. I brushed off my skirt, tried to collect myself. I mentally prepared myself for the land of 'please-pass-this' and 'isn't-it-_lovely_' and '_toujors pur_' and 'Bellatrix-and-Rodolphus', so different from whatever I had just experienced with Lord Voldemort.

No matter how hard I tried to turn that part of my mind off, the last thought that entered my head before I went back indoors was, _The man who claimed to not know love in fact called me that. 'Love.'_

Of course it was only a colloquialism. I'd heard it used before.

_But not by anyone who had only moments earlier kissed me, and then asserted their disbelief in the word as a concept._

**Ah! There! You have a chapter! Please continue to review, because it makes me feel awesome. Like seriously. I don't know how real authors do life without being crazy conceited. If I was someone super legit and awesome, like J.K. Rowling, I would just walk around all the time like "LOOK HOW MANY PEOPLE LOVE ME!"**


	6. Ch 6: Muggle Magic

**Yikes, guys, I didn't realize it had been a MONTH since I had updated. School and stuff. Blah. My apologies, but if you're patient you will get your story! And this chapter is longer than my usual, so maybe that makes up for it. A little? Okay, okay… here's the fanfiction you came for.**

**EDIT: I just realized I made a major error in here. It's updated now. If any of you caught it, you know what it was and I apologize. If not, carry on.*******

"Bellatrix?"

Of course. Sirius, of all people, was the first to see me.

"You came back!" he squealed. "HEY! Bella's back!"

I heard footsteps.

Sirius looked at me funny. It took me a moment to realize he was analyzing my appearance, which was admittedly less than what must have been expected of a pureblood daughter at a dinner party. "You're dirty. What did you do?"

My mother appeared behind him. "Yes, for goodness sakes, Bellatrix, what happened?"

_Oh, not much. I just made out with some complete stranger. Some superpowerful wizard lord who is questionably older than I am. All of this took place in those woods back there while you all were being your usual vapid selves._

I thought fast. "I needed some air so I went outside and I tripped on a branch."

My mother raised her eyebrows. "A branch?"

"Yes, there was a branch," I repeated. Because, technically, there _had_ been a branch. Multiple branches, in fact. I didn't want to have this conversation with her. I walked back into the dining room.

"Young lady," she said sharply. "Are you sure you want to go back in there looking like that?"

"Yes," I said. "I am hungry." Sullenly, I took my place in between Andromeda and Rodolphus.

Rodolphus smirked as I sat down. "Look what the cat drug in," he scoffed. He lowered his voice. "And what I wouldn't give to be the cat who had his way with you."

"Shove off, Rodolphus," I said, willing my cheeks to not blush red. "Nobody had his way with me, I fell."

"I'd imagine you'd be hard to have," he whispered.

"I said I fell, and that's the end of it!"

"Oh, sure," Rodolphus said condescendingly. "You're an angel, Bella. An absolute angel. _Toujors pur._"

Andromeda kicked me under the table. "You can lie to Rodolphus if you want," she whispered. "But you better tell me and Cissy the full story later."

"There's nothing to tell," I insisted.

Andromeda just laughed. "Oh. Okay. Because falling down makes you look like that, and is definitely the reason you're staring off into space with the same expression Cissy makes when she looks at Lucius. Speaking of, she's a complete nincompoop around him when you're not here to stop her."

"Are you surprised?" I whispered back. "I love the girl to death but she's a total airhead. She'd be lost without me."

Later that night, after the guests had finally gone home and Sirius had been put to bed, I sat up with Narcissa and Andromeda.

"I'm going to marry Lucius," Narcissa declared.

"You're an idiot," Andromeda replied.

"But he loves me," Narcissa insisted. "And I love him. So we're getting married."

"You're not old enough," Andromeda argued.

"Well, it isn't like we're getting married _tomorrow_," Narcissa said with an eye roll. "But we will, one day."

"How do you _know_?" Andromeda insisted. "You're thirteen years old. You don't know what love is."

"Just because no one will ever love you—" Narcissa began.

"Oh!" Andromeda shouted. "There you go again! Always jealous because I'm smart and get good marks. Well, I'd rather be smart than a shallow, empty-headed beauty queen!"

"Would both of you shut up?" I cried. I was sick of this conversation. This wasn't a new argument. Ever since my youngest sister had started school, she and Dromeda's sibling rivalry had escalated. Narcissa was classically pretty and instantly popular. Andromeda was the more quiet and studious of the two. Neither one of them saw me as much of a threat. I was just weird. I didn't even own a hairbrush. (Despite being one of the most commonly said things about me, it was A: not a very good insult and B: utterly false. There is a distinct difference between not owning a hairbrush and not caring to use one.)

And yet it was I, the least popular of the Black sisters, who had caught the attention of a wizarding lord.

"Tell us about your evening, Bella," Narcissa said.

I recounted in detail how I had met Lord Voldemort, and all of our conversations and… affections.

"That was really stupid," Andromeda declared. "You don't even _know_ this man."

Narcissa sighed. "Honestly, Andromeda, you're so _boring_!" she declared. "It's incredibly romantic, Bella. But think about Rodolphus. He loves you so much, and you two are absolutely perfect for each other!"

"How?" I asked. "In what world are Rodolphus and I 'perfect' for each other? What do we have in common?"

Narcissa shrugged. "You're both purebloods," she said.

"Oh. Well. In that case." I rolled my eyes.

"And he obviously adores you," she continued.

"He doesn't even know me," I said.

"Nonsense," Andromeda said. "You've grown up together. Of course he knows you."

I shook my head. "He knows who he thinks I am," I explained. "But he doesn't _know me_, know me."

"And this… Voldemort fellow—he _knows you_, knows you?" Andromeda asked, condescending air painfully apparent.

"It was like he could see right through me," I said. "I don't expect you to understand, Dromeda."

"He's a complete stranger," Andromeda said disdainfully. "I really thought better of you. He could see right through you, alright, and see that you were just a naïve little girl who wants to play tough because she's got something to prove."

"You don't understand, Dromeda," I insisted. "You weren't there. You don't know what he's like."

"Enough of this 'no one understands me' act, Bella," Andromeda snapped. "If being born into a privileged family was so rough, you'd think Cissy and I would be at least a bit damaged. But we're not. You know why? Because there is absolutely nothing wrong. You're such a little drama queen! Running away like we keep you enslaved. Coming back without even bothering to tidy up. And then you wonder why nobody thinks you're anything but a brat and a whore."

Tears stung the back of my eyes. "I hate you. You're as bad as Mother is. I'm going to bed."

An owl from Lord Voldemort came the next day. Everything about his writing was poetic and wild and reminded me of him.

Sirius had purchased some Muggle game called an Ouija board and snuck it in without Mother noticing. While I thought the game was dumb, I admired his guts for bringing a Muggle artifact into the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black and agreed to play it with him and Narcissa.

"It can tell the future," Sirius explained. "You hold this little thingy and ask it a question and it spells out the answer with magic."

"It isn't magic," I said. "Wizards have magic. Muggles just have cheap tricks."

Narcissa went first. "Who am I going to marry?" she asked.

_L U C_

"Oh for goodness sakes!" I cried. "She's pushing it!"

_I U S_

"I was not!" Narcissa exclaimed. "It says I'm going to marry Lucius!"

"Wow, there's a surprise," Sirius muttered under his breath.

I laughed. As much as the little brat annoyed me, he was the only one in this family whose sarcasm could rival mine. "Okay, let me try," I said, taking the little reader. I didn't want to ask who I would marry. Because truth is, unless I could figure out a way to run off and be with Voldemort, I would probably marry Rodolphus. I didn't want to face the reality of it. So I decided to have fun with it. Not, of course, that I believed in it. "Who do I belong with?"

For a moment, it didn't move. Of course it didn't move. It wasn't real. It was a cheap Muggle toy.

_T_

It startled me.

_O M_

"T… O… M…" Sirius said. "Who's Tom?"

Narcissa and I exchanged glances. "I don't know any Toms…" she said.

"I take back what I said. It's real. Now who the hell is Tom?"

**Please read and review. An update will be posted eventually. (Maybe reviewing makes posts come faster… Hint-hint.) **


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